COVINGTON — An aggressive pit bull forced a Covington police officer to use deadly force to defend himself against the dog.

An officer with the Covington Police Department responded around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday to a complaint of a pit bull attacking another dog at a home on Morris Drive. When the officer arrived at the scene and walked to the back yard, he witnessed the pit bull biting the neck of the homeowner’s dog.

The dog’s owner attempted to pull the pit bull off his dog, but the officer warned him not to touch the pit bull, according to the incident report.

After the dog owner stepped away, the pit bull bared his teeth, growled and began to move toward the officer and the dog owner. The officer drew his weapon and shot the pit bull to prevent an attack, the report states.

Newton County Animal Control arrived and took the dog. According to Terri Key-Hooson, director of Newton County Animal Control, the pit bull arrived at the animal shelter dead from the gunshot wound.